Ending Ebola: A new vaccine is big step forward

A woman is vaccinated at a health center in Conakry during the first clinical trials of the VSV-EBOV vaccine against the Ebola virus on March 10, 2015. An ebola vaccine tested in clinical trials is "up to 100 percent effective" in protecting against the deadly virus, the World Health Organization reported in a study published on December 22, 2016. (Cellou Binani, AFP/Getty Images)

In 2014 the world held its breath as Ebola rampaged through Africa, killing thousands with gruesome efficiency. World Health Organization officials warned that the virus could ramp up to overwhelm Africa, then spread across the globe, straining hospitals and public health systems.

There was no cure for Ebola. And no vaccine — until now.

Advertisement

A few weeks ago, researchers announced they've developed an Ebola vaccine that proved 100 percent effective against one of two major strains of the virus in a major trial. An international consortium published that spectacular finding in the medical journal the Lancet, confirming earlier preliminary results.

A vaccine with a mouthful of a name — rVSV-Zebov — confers swift Ebola immunity after a single dose.

Advertisement

The Lancet study covered 11,841 residents of Guinea in 2015. None of the nearly 6,000 people who got the vaccine came down with Ebola 10 or more days later. Researchers found 23 Ebola cases among thousands of others who were not immediately vaccinated.

After decades of fitful progress to create an effective vaccine, this is a triumph for researchers, for African public health officials, for the World Health Organization and for Merck, which manufactures the vaccine.

"While these compelling results come too late for those who lost their lives during West Africa's Ebola epidemic, they show that when the next Ebola outbreak hits, we will not be defenseless," said lead author Marie-Paule Kieny, the World Health Organization's assistant director-general for Health Systems and Innovation.

So have we triumphed in the war against Ebola? Not yet. The new vaccine works against only one of those two most common strains of the virus. Ideally, a vaccine would safely protect against all strains. And the Merck vaccine may or may not confer long-lasting protection.

Advertisement

Still, public health officials are so confident about this vaccine that they have already created an emergency stockpile of 300,000 doses should Ebola flare again. That's smart. The arsenal of treatments against Ebola is thin. The best way to fight it is to vaccinate widely.

A just-released report from the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy and the Wellcome Trust outlines the steps that remain to license and use effective Ebola vaccines. It warns researchers and policymakers that there are still gaps in preparedness for the inevitable next outbreak. The report also exhorts health officials around the world to maintain a "sense of urgency ... so our collective vision of ending Ebola as a major threat to public health can be realized."

For many years, Ebola would emerge from the jungle, kill with startling swiftness, then slink back into the mists. As it retreated, so did the urgency to create a vaccine, or to find new drugs to combat the scourge. Not this time. That ultimate Ebola vaccine to cover all strains is still in development. It can't come too soon.

The World Health Organization was alarmingly slow and ill-prepared to battle Ebola. The new report calls for the creation of a "dedicated consortium focused on 'championing' Ebola vaccines and resolving remaining key issues." Good idea. A new public-private effort — with WHO input but independent leadership — could ensure that Ebola never again threatens the world.